9 11 Tribute
by Autobot StarRacer
Summary: Jack is acting weird and sad on September 11th. Neither the bots nor humans understand why until he goes through the ground bridge for mysterious reasons. Miko, being curious as always, follows and finds out the sorrowful secret past Jack had been hiding for 11 years. Will he be able to tell his friends the whole story? One shot! Slight Jack/Miko pairing


**Okay so I know that I'm a few days late writing this but this is my tribute to those who died in 9/11. I centered it around Jack since I really didn't know what happened to Jack's dad. So here it is and thank you those who have lost their lives in either the 9/11 attack or the war. God bless and RIP!**

**And I had received a review saying I got the gravestone wrong…it was up until today that I realized what they meant. I put down the wrong date UGH! *facepalm* sorry guys! It's revised now! :)**

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Jack looked out the classroom window with a sigh. It was the 11th anniversary. He found it hard to believe that it had already been 11 years since he lived in New York City. He had hidden it from the autobots, from everyone, making them think that he grew up in Jasper. But that had all been a lie, he lied to keep his feelings hidden. Tears threatened to enter his eyes as he thought of that morning. So many people had died from it, and it didn't help that a war had started soon after. Hearing the word war didn't just make him think of Afghanistan, or even the autobots. No, he thought of something that made his heart sore every time it entered his mind.

The intercom interrupted his thoughts. The principle was requesting a moment of silence in remembrance of that fateful day. Jack scowled when Vince, as usual, ignored the request and continued talking. What made it worse was that the others were silent but didn't really care. Miko looked angered as well, and she was the exchange student who didn't know much about US history. When the bell rang Jack ran out of the classroom, which was odd for him. Miko and Rafael shared a confused look before following him. The found him outside waiting for Arcee to show up. Miko and Raf sat on either side of him and saw the pained look in his eyes.

"Jack, are you okay?" Raf asked. Miko stayed silent but her eyes showed her curiosity and worry. Jack put on a fake smile and looked at the younger boy.

"Yeah I'm fine. See ya at the base." Jack said a little too quickly. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked up to Arcee's alt mode. The blue motorcycle noticed her partner's unusual behavior as he approached. She resisted the urge to ask until they were out of Jasper.

"So what's on your mind?" Arcee asked. Jack's hand tightened on the handles momentarily, causing Arcee's engine to rev in obvious discomfort. Jack shook his head and sighed. He loosened his grip and closed his eyes.

"It's nothing, just what happened in school today." He lied. "Hey Arcee…if I needed to talk to someone about something…personal can I come to you?" Arcee was silent and surprised at the sudden question.

"Jack, you've listened to me rant about my ex-partners. The least I could do is listen to your problems." Arcee answered. Jack smiled and thanked her as they drove into the base. Jack put his helmet on the table and looked around. Raf and Miko had yet to come and the only other bot besides Arcee in the room was Optimus Prime. Jack called over the Prime, surprising the leader. Jack whispered something low enough that Arcee couldn't hear. Optimus' optics widened a little before he nodded and started working on the ground bridge controls. "Jack, what was that all about?"

"I just needed to ground bridge somewhere and Optimus said it's okay." Jack mumbled. Arcee narrowed her optics slightly, curious as to what had her charge so upset. When the others drove in Optimus opened the ground bridge. Bulkhead walked up in confusion.

"So what is it this time? Energon or cons?" the green mech asked. Optimus looked over at Jack who was walking down the steps quickly.

"Jack has important private personal business to do. If he wants to tell you later, he will." Optimus answered as the raven haired boy ran through the ground bridge. Miko had enough and ran through before anyone could stop her.

Jack's heart nearly stalled when he walked into a graveyard in New York City. He strode in silence as he went straight to a certain grave. When he knelt down he read the grave stone. Tears filled his eyes and he finally broke down. He hadn't visited him since the day they left for Jasper. He failed to hear light footsteps behind him so he was startled when a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder. He slowly looked up to see Miko with a worried expression. He looked away again and tried to wipe away his tears.

"Jack…whose grave is this?" she asked as she knelt down next to him. Jack only pointed to the grave marker. Miko looked and nearly gasped at what it read. She couldn't believe it.

Robert Jackson Darby

February 2, 1969-September 11, 2001

Gave his life saving lives at the Trade Center

Beloved husband and father

Miko turned her gaze back to Jack who was choking back his sobs. Miko wrapped him in a hug in an attempt to comfort him. Jack was surprised by the gesture but he didn't refuse it. In fact, he turned and began crying into her shoulder. Miko was crying a little as well. She had no idea that Jack's dad had actually died in the terrorist attack. She silently threatened Vince for being so rude during the moment of silence.

"M-Miko," Jack suddenly whispered to her. The girl pulled back and looked into his dark blue eyes. He looked so defeated and miserable. She couldn't stand seeing her friend in pain, especially because of this. "Why did you come here?"

"I knew something was up, but I had no clue what. If I knew that it was this bad I would've stayed behind. I'm sorry this was none of my business." Miko responded. She lowered her head in shame. Jack studied her for a moment before lifting her chin. "What are you-"

"Just relax," Jack said softly. Before Miko could respond he planted his lips on her gently. Miko froze but eventually melted into his embrace. When they pulled back they were both blushing. "I-I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." Miko smirked and kissed his cheek.

"It's fine Jack." she said with a tiny giggle. They found some wild flowers and put them on the grave. Jack called base for a ground bridge, and soon enough it opened.

Arcee was antsy the whole time Jack and Miko were gone. She kept trying to get Optimus to tell her what was the problem but the Prime simply refused. The matter was simply too personal to speak of without the human with them. When Jack asked for a ground bridge Arcee sighed in relief. Everyone was utterly shocked when Jack and Miko came in holding hands, the boys' eyes bloodshot from crying. Arcee walked up and hesitated.

"Jack, what's wrong? You're crying." Arcee observed. She noticed how close the two were and smirked. "Are you two courting?" Jack blushed and let go of Miko's hand to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. Raf snickered from his place at the balcony.

"Uh, well," Jack said before sighing. "It's actually a long story." Arcee sighed in relief as her partner stood next to Raf and Miko. He looked pained but remained expressionless. "Have you guys ever heard of the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001?" the confused looks on the bots faces was his answer. "Basically a terrorist group called al Qaeda flew jets into the Twin Towers and attacked the Pentagon. It had killed hundreds of people." Jack tightened his grip on the rail so hard that his knuckles turned white. "I didn't always live in Jasper. I was born in New York and raised in NYC up until 2002. My dad was a firefighter at the time and he was on duty that morning. He said that he'd pick me up from school and we could hang out together but…" Arcee was now getting worried. Jack's stress levels were rising.

"Jack, you don't have to tell us if it hurts you." Arcee said quietly. Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking back up at his guardian.

"I'm fine, 'Cee." Jack insisted. Miko took his hand and gave it a supporting squeeze. "He was sent into the buildings to rescue the workers. They told him not to go any higher but he still went up. The people he saved barely got out of the building alive but," Tears were now threatening him again. "The building collapsed on him. He died saving a lady from the attack. I just visited his grave since it was the 11th anniversary. I hadn't visited him since the day we moved to Jasper." The autobots were silent for a long time. After a while Bulkhead became angry and let out a feral growl.

"I swear, if I ever get my servos on the one responsible for-" the mech growled but was cut off.

"Osama bin Laden is dead. He was the leader of the group. The attack had started a war between us and Afghanistan." Raf stated. Miko looked angry all over again.

"And it's a tradition to have a moment of silence for those who died and when we were supposed to have ours today at school Vince decided to be a jerk and kept talking throughout it!" Miko snapped. The bots looked disgusted by the disrespect. The proximity alarm went off and Fowler walked in with a folder and a solemn look on his face.

"Agent Fowler, is there a reason you've come?" Optimus asked curiously. Fowler looked over at Jack before facing the Prime.

"Yes Optimus, there is. By your mood I assume you know about what happened to Jack's father." Fowler responded. Everyone nodded slightly so Fowler turned back to Jack. "Is Mrs. Darby here?"

"No she's at work." Jack said. Fowler frowned and placed the folder in the teen's hands. "What's this?" he opened it and promptly closed it, looking shocked.

"What? What is it?" Miko asked eagerly. Fowler chuckled and smiled.

"If there's anything you and your mom need, Jack, don't be afraid to ask." Fowler said before leaving. Jack stood there, too stunned to move. Miko poked him gently which brought him out of his thoughts.

"Jack, what's in the folder?" Miko asked. Jack smiled and opened it for all to see. It was an award for bravery, signed by President Obama himself, for Jack and June being able to pull through this and Jack's helpfulness with the autobots. On top, however, was a check for $10,000. Miko and Raf were shocked, but understood when Jack explained that they were having some pretty bad financial problems. Jack checked his phone to see that it was getting late.

"Hey Arcee, will you take me home?" Jack asked the femmebot. Arcee smiled but paused for a moment.

"Hey, since the moment of silence was ruined at your school, how about we have one now? But also for those who have fallen in the wars." Arcee suggested. Jack smiled when everyone agreed. After a minute of silence the humans went home. Before Jack went inside he patted the seat of the motorcycle.

"Thanks, Arcee." He whispered before leaving the garage.

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**So what'd ya think? Good? Bad? Stupid? I'd love to hear what you think! So...reviews are welcomed! :)**

**Again, sorry for the date mixup! :/**


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